Dax’s own story voice in the end may not be too remarkable, but with an assist from readers, it can at least sound much more...
This audio–Mad Libs app featuring a shape-shifting alien on a visit to Earth is gimmicky but well-executed enough to overcome a scattershot story.
Before readers are introduced to an orange space creature named Dax, a menu of 10 items is presented. They must perform such feats as howling like a wolf, growling like a tiger and saying, “Thank you.” The audio is then baked into the fairly haphazard story of Dax, an alien shaped like a mushroom and colored with big, square pixels. Dax, who can imitate billions of voices, rockets to Earth, lands in the ocean and begins making as many friends as possible. He uses the audio recordings to communicate with Earth-dwelling animals as his body shifts shape. The audio is as low-key or exciting as readers care to make it, and the trick adds a lively layer to what’s otherwise a competent but ho-hum story. Dax realizes he has no real voice of his own (should he blame the app?), then goes on a journey of self-discovery to meet more animals and to find his own identity. The alien is cheerful enough, and the app’s soothing colors, smooth art and animation complement the audio well. It’s not narrative magic, but it’s a pleasant trip.
Dax’s own story voice in the end may not be too remarkable, but with an assist from readers, it can at least sound much more exciting. (iPad storybook app. 3-8)Pub Date: April 5, 2013
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Opposite, Inc.
Review Posted Online: May 21, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
Continuing to find inspiration in the work of Virginia Lee Burton, Munro Leaf and other illustrators of the past, Long (The Little Engine That Could, 2005) offers an aw-shucks friendship tale that features a small but hardworking tractor (“putt puff puttedy chuff”) with a Little Toot–style face and a big-eared young descendant of Ferdinand the bull who gets stuck in deep, gooey mud. After the big new yellow tractor, crowds of overalls-clad locals and a red fire engine all fail to pull her out, the little tractor (who had been left behind the barn to rust after the arrival of the new tractor) comes putt-puff-puttedy-chuff-ing down the hill to entice his terrified bovine buddy successfully back to dry ground. Short on internal logic but long on creamy scenes of calf and tractor either gamboling energetically with a gaggle of McCloskey-like geese through neutral-toned fields or resting peacefully in the shade of a gnarled tree (apple, not cork), the episode will certainly draw nostalgic adults. Considering the author’s track record and influences, it may find a welcome from younger audiences too. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-399-25248-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2009
SEEN & HEARD
This frenetic ode to fatherhood is predictable fare but may please series fans.
It’s time to look for the elusive Daddysaurus.
In this latest installment in the seemingly never-ending series about a group of diverse kids attempting to trap mythical creatures, the youngsters are now on the lookout for a big mauve dinosaur with an emblazoned D on his stomach and a superhero cape. The fast-moving Daddysaurus is always on the go; he will be difficult to catch. Armed with blueprints of possible ideas, the kids decide which traps to set. As in previous works, ones of the sticky variety seem popular. They cover barbells with fly paper (Daddysaurus like to exercise) and spread glue on the handle of a shovel (Daddysaurus also likes to garden). One clever trick involves tempting Daddysaurus with a drawing of a hole, taped to the wall, because he fixes everything that breaks. Daddysaurus is certainly engaged in the children’s lives, not a workaholic or absent, but he does fall into some standard tropes associated with fathers. The rhyming quatrains stumble at times but for the most part bounce along. Overall, though, text and art feel somewhat formulaic and likely will tempt only devotees of the series. The final page of the book (after Daddysaurus is caught with love) has a space for readers to write a note or draw a picture of their own Daddysaurus. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
This frenetic ode to fatherhood is predictable fare but may please series fans. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-72826-618-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
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